ONE Championship, the Singapore-based international mixed martial arts (MMA) series, will hold its first event in the US next year.
The event, at 1stBank Center in Colorado on May 5, 2023, will be headlined by the third meeting between flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson and former titleholder Adriano Moraes, which ONE has called the biggest fight in its history.
Moraes defeated Johnson with a second-round knockout and claimed the flyweight world title when they first met in April 2021 – the first and only time Johnson has been knocked out in his career.
Johnson returned the favor in August this year, knocking Moraes out with a flying knee – the first and only time Moraes has been knocked out.
ONE is touting the third fight between the pair as one that will “truly determine the best flyweight MMA fighter on the planet.”
The event will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video in the US and Canada, with the streaming platform having acquired rights in those markets to the promotion through a five-year deal announced in April.
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By GlobalDataONE says more details about the event will be released in due course.
Chatri Sityodtong, founder of ONE Championship and chief executive of its parent company Group ONE Holdings (GOH), told Reuters in September that GOH is laying the groundwork for an initial public offering in the US as it continues to grow.
The series launched in 2011 and has built its business since by staging events across Asia.
Last week (December 3), it was announced that ONE had struck a deal with FanDuel for the US-based fantasy sports and betting firm to air the series’ events on its linear and digital channels.
Elsewhere, it was also recently reported that ONE is planning to expand into Saudi Arabia with live events and training academies.
In September, ONE struck a deal with BeIN Media Group, the company behind the international pay-TV broadcaster, for exclusive rights across the Middle East and North Africa.